Revenge
by Boriqua-chan
Summary: Revenge was an inescapable thing that festered shallowly within the human soul; yet, as he watched the poor brown-eyed girl get beaten and burnt, he couldn't sense any hate inside the girl's heart.
1. Chapter 1

Leiko hissed at the burnt skin on her back. She grabbed the icepack on the bathroom sink and whimpered when the cold of the ice came in contact with her blistering flesh. Oh, how that hurt! Quietly, as to not wake her frightening uncle, Leiko walked through the halls of the house and into her room, all the while holding the pack of ice to the small of her back and trying hard not to yelp in pain. She mistook her footing, though, and the creek of a wooden plank on the floor had her frozen in fright. When nothing happened, she opened the door to her room and walked to her bed.

Tears ran down her cheeks in a frenzy. The young woman was urging herself to spill all the tears she wouldn't allow around her uncle. Tears egged Uncle Toshi to hit and torture her more. Leiko let her hair sprawl out on her and let the cold of the ice freeze her skin before she fell asleep, dragging fear and terror into the dream world with her.

As she fell into sleep, she thought that she had seen a greenish-yellow eye, large as life, on the wall of her room. But she was too tired to care. If it was the demon, let him take her. Right now, she just wanted to sleep and cry.

**:: ::**

Ren glanced over at Hone, who he now realized was watching him with a keen eye. "Alright, spill it. Who're you stalking now?" she asked teasingly. She could always tell when he was watching something else.

Ren laughed. "I was caught," he said aloud, smiling slightly. He really didn't feel like giving anyone any insight into what—more specifically who—had caught his eye. The poor girl. He'd seen worse, of course, but the way the girl walked…Ren truly believed that she wouldn't take revenge if it were offered to her.

Hone nodded and lifted her sleeve girlishly to hide her grin. "Who're you stalking?" she asked again, still smiling. "Is she pretty?"

"How do you know it's a girl?" Ren asked. He slid down on the wall of the outside of Ai's house and grinned up at the bone woman. She rolled her eyes and proceeded to sit next to him on the porch. He tucked a piece of black hair away from his right eye.

"It's usually girls who require our services," the black-haired woman stated. "Are you watching our next client?"

Ren's beautiful lips turned down into a frown. "I…," he started; the frown on his face deepened and he paused for a second. "I don't know. She has all the reasons to…yet I don't think she will." His green eyes stared up at the endless sunset in confusion. Revenge was an inescapable thing that festered shallowly within the human soul; yet, as he watched the poor brown-eyed girl get beaten and burnt, he couldn't sense any hate inside the girl's heart. Only the desire to leave that place, to get help for her uncle, and to never see him again; but hate was never in her heart. Ren's brows creased, as he started into the eternal orange of the sun.

Hone shrugged. "Perhaps we should nudge her in our direction? Where did you meet the girl?"

"Just walking around the normal world, watching out for vengeful hearts," Ren shrugged. "Her scars caught my eye."

"Sc…ars?" the bone woman repeated slowly. She watched the pond at the feet of the porch as it shimmered in the infinite sundown of Ai's world.

Ren nodded. "Scars," he confirmed. "Her uncle." Ren searched the sun before standing up and stretching. "Have you seen the Mistress?" he inquired, changing the subject eagerly.

"The sakura garden most probably," Hone answered. "Shall we push the girl?" To which Ren nodded.

**:: ::**

Leiko bit her lip, watching as her large uncle lifted his breakfast to his lips. She let a small sigh escape her lips when Toshi didn't push it all to the floor immediately. Leiko bowed lowly and scurried away. A deep breath escaped her when she closed the door of the house behind her. She bowed her head and closed her eyes in relief, tightening her hands on her briefcase. After another deep breath, the black-haired woman walked away from the house.

The walk to school was silent. She never walked with anyone, preferring instead to think silently throughout her walk. The click of her loafers on the concrete of the sidewalk was her only companion for a long while. Until she banged into a person. Being bold, as she was, Leiko took a step back to face the poor person. "Oh," she said, looking up at the man. He looked old enough to be in high school with her. Maybe he was a new student? Leiko smiled cheerfully at the black-haired man. "Sorry, sir," she apologized.

The man's yellow-green eyes brightened for a second and he gave her a half-smile. "No, no. It was my fault. I should've kept walking."

Leiko rolled her eyes at him playfully; she tucked a piece of her layered bangs over her ear. Shaking her head, she said, "Don't take blame. It's my fault."

"Truly, miss—" the stranger started to say, but was interrupted.

"I won't have it!" Leiko told him, her chocolate brown eyes shinning teasingly. "It's my fault so deal with it."

The man nodded. "Guess I have no choice in the matter," he muttered loud enough for Leiko to hear. His artfully thin black brow was pulled together humorously. "Ren, at your services, ma'am," he said with a bow.

Leiko gave a joyous laugh; as her laughter died, she swore she saw a confused frown on the beautiful man's face… Leiko shrugged it off; must have been a trick of the eye. "Leiko, at yours," she grinned. Her grin slipped off, transforming into a frown, when she saw the stranger's eyes zero in on her leg. There was a healing pink burn mark where he was staring. Her teasing chocolate eyes stoned into brown suspicion. "What're you looking at?" she growled, scowling fiercely.

Ren's eyes lifted from her leg, traveling the way of her uniform skirt and shirt and stopping when he reached her angry brunette orbs. "Have you heard of the Hell Correspondence?" he asked instead.

"Yeah," Leiko said sternly, glaring daggers at the man. The nerve—watching her scars and not even answering her question! Of course, maybe she was overreacting; she was very aware of the self-conciseness that she had when it came to her scars. "It appears at midnight, blah blah blah, type in the person's name, more blah, and the Hell Girl will get revenge for you. What of it?"

Ren's beautiful thick lips turned into a confused frown. "Nothing," he said, scowling with a fury to match Leiko's, "just thought you should use it."

Leiko's big brown eyes narrowed hatefully. "What makes you think I have anyone to get revenge on, Ren?" she spat, slacking her shoulders and lowering her eyes to glare at him through her long lashes. She crossed her arms, tightening her grip on her schoolbag. She tapped her foot on the ground impatiently.

Ren took a deep breath and gave a half-grin to the girl. "What person would purposely burn themselves?"

Leiko frowned. "Goodbye, Ren," she said, glaring death. "Good luck with your life." She walked away, crossing the street to her school without a glance back.

"That went well," Hone said from her hiding place near a building. She walked to her confused friend, placing a hand on his shoulder as he watched the girl walk away. "I thought you said she wasn't vengeful," Hone wondered, though she could very much feel the soul of the girl, and, no, it wasn't bitter in the least bit.

Ren glared at the bouncing ponytail that stared at him now instead of the girl's amazing chocolate eyes. "Humans confuse me," he stated, then continued the thought with, "and women are scary."

Hone laughed, "Hell hath no wrath like that of a woman scorned. Shall we go tell the Mistress that we may have found her next client?"

"You go, I'm staying."

Hone's amused laugh echoed through the streets. "Haven't you had enough flirting?"

Ren's right eye twitched. "I was not!" he shouted.

"Whatever you say, mister it's-my-fault," Hone teased. "Just remember: If you keep bugging her, she's going to hit you where you don't want to be hit." She meaningfully eyed the dormant place between his legs. "One of the downsides of being a human male."

Ren glared at the bone woman as she disappeared. "Flirting my ass…" he muttered stubbornly as he sat on the sidewalk, ready to wait all day

**:: ::**

Leiko frowned. It was time to go home. Tears lined her eyes, barely escaping falling over her lashes. It was time to make dinner for Toshi, lest he come home to beat her again. The unenthusiastic shuffle of her shoes on the grassed ground of the schoolyard echoed in her ears. Leiko licked her lips; her fear was such that it dried out her lips. She shook her head and ran the back of her hands over her eyes in an attempt to rid herself of the tears.

She had once again refused to walk with her friends. If Toshi was already home and he saw her with friends… Leiko shuddered at the thought. Back erect, Leiko fought the urge to cry and walked out the schoolyard. She crossed the street silently. "Hey, Leiko," she heard a familiar voice call. She paused for a second, watching in shocked silence as the strange green-eyed man walked over to her.

When the man in the green and white hoodie stopped next to her, Leiko gave a gentle smile. "Ren," she greeted. Then she paused for a second. "That is your name, right? I don't want to get it wrong." He nodded. "Listen, I'm sorry about this morning… I just got a bit defensive. I guess it was out of line. Sorry."

"I shouldn't have expected you to be okay with my prodding," Ren said, his own silent apology.

Leiko nodded. She started to walk again, welcoming Ren's company. "It's okay. You were right." When she said this, she sounded almost ashamed. "I did not burn myself. I'm a bit self-conscious about it."

"Then I won't pry," Ren told her. Besides, he already knew the reason those burns were there. He wondered how she was faring with the newest one on her back. He was shocked when the feeling of worry overcame him. Mayhap it was better if she didn't contact Ai.

Leiko nodded her thanks to her tall friend. "Hey, Ren?" Ren grunted to show her he was listening. "Why did you wait? What could you possibly want with a stranger who all but flipped you off?"

Ren shrugged. "You look like you need someone to talk to. Sometimes its easier to talk to a complete stranger about your problems than a friend." He paused for a moment. "Plus, I didn't like the way we left things. Sorry I mentioned Hell Girl. Don't contact her, please."

Leiko laughed. "You believe that _myth_?" she asked between her laughter. "Ren, the Hell Correspondence is a story told to those with bitter feelings in order to make them feel as if they can do something about their tormentor." Her voice, lively in the beginning of the conversation, turned solemn. "You can never do anything about tormentors. Just suffer through it and wait until it's over. Survive—that's all you can ever do, survive. Some just survive better than others." Leiko sighed. "Although, even if she were real, I wouldn't contact her. Don't the stories say that the tormentor is sent to hell?"

Ren didn't look at her. Instead, he watched the scenery before him, tracing the leaves on the bushes near the yellow house with his eyes as he drank in her words. If only she knew. "Yeah," he said after a moment of silence. "They end up in hell."

"I don't want to do that to anyone, no matter how they act. If they have a chance at heaven, I want them to have a fair shot at getting there," Leiko said solemnly. Then she smiled up at Ren, who she reached only his shoulders. "Would you send anyone to hell?"

How to answer that question? He had sent people to hell, both when a sword and when taking a human appearance. But, if he had a choice, if he wasn't helping the Mistress, would he do it? "Probably," he admitted.

Leiko nodded. "You look like the type of guy to, if the person was bad enough," she agreed silently. For a long while, the only sound was the scraping of Leiko's loafers and Ren's sneakers. Leiko pulled a key from inside her white shirt and frowned at it. "I shouldn't be talking to strangers," she muttered at the key, "much less should I be inviting that stranger into my house…" Leiko trailed off, thinking of the possibilities. Ren could come in, maybe stay for lunch or later, divert Toshi from his usual beatings…of course, the beating would be much harder when Ren did leave; but if she didn't invite Ren, the beating would be much longer. Leiko chose the former. "But," she said cheerfully as she pulled the red thread that the key dangled from over her head, "oh well. Would you like to come in, Ren?"

A chance to spy on the abuser? Why not? Shake things up a bit from the usual way of spying. Ren shrugged, answering, "Sure." He hadn't noticed they were at her house already; which was a good thing, considering that he "didn't" know what her house looked like. "Where's it at?" Leiko ignored his question, instead walking up the stairs to her lawn and pushing the key into the lock. "Nice place," Ren commented. He already knew what the house looked like, but pretended to be impressed by the obvious wealth.

Leiko popped her briefcase onto a hook near the door and dropped to take off her shoes. Ren speedily pulled his shoelaces and stepped out of his black sneakers. "What would you like for dinner?" the girl asked, hurrying to get inside. Ren walked slowly in after her.

Ren's thin eyebrows pushed together. Had he ever really eaten? He didn't think so. "Anything's fine," he told her, following her into the large expanse of the kitchen.

Leiko pulled her hair out of its ponytail; it fell on her shoulders in loose, layered curls. She hurried to fill a pot with water and set it over the stove. "Are you sure?" she asked, almost running to the refrigerator.

Ren saw that she was already cooking and didn't honor that silly question with a response. He sat on a chair at the head of the rectangle table. "With who do you live?" Ren asked, watching as Leiko ran her fingers through her short hair.

Leiko scratched the crown of her head. "With my uncle," she answered. She heightened the flame of the stove and disappeared into the bathroom that was attached to the kitchen. She reappeared, dressed in shorts that hardly reached her mid-thigh and a sleeveless green shirt instead of her white schoolgirl's uniform. Ren hid an impressed smile. "How about you?"

Every bone in his handsome body screeched for him to lie his ass off. So Ren did. "With my grandfather," he said, thinking of Wanyūdō, "and my older sister, Hone, along with my little sisters, Ai and Kikuri, and brother, Huang." Why'd he just give her their names? Actually, when he thought about it…that was the way he viewed his companions, as siblings and grandfather; one big family with a less than normal family occupation. Ren leaned back on the sturdy chair.

Leiko smiled, tossing in a handful of dried noodles. "Big family," she commented. "What happened to your parents? Mine…mine went camping and…well, they found their bodies three weeks later…"

Ren watched while Leiko trailed off in thought as he tried to think of a good lie; she walked to the pantry to grab three cups of rice. She had already readied the pot for it. "I've never really known my father. He came around but never stayed," he lied, making it general. Many children didn't know their fathers in this day and age. It was such a weird thing; of course, what would he know, being a sword and everything? "Our mother died of old age."

Leiko nodded. She stirred the limping noodles and then took her seat across Ren. "Sorry," she said, offering condolences for his mother. "How old are they, your siblings?"

"Not very old, though Ai is beyond her years." Ren tried to not laugh—and succeeded, to his surprise—at the fact that, while Ai looked very young, she was the oldest of them all. "Well, excepting Hone. She's in her mid-twenties." What a believable lie. Should the girl ever meet his "family," she would think he was telling nothing but the truth. "We call her old lady." Ren listened, stunned into silence, to Leiko's airy laugh. If he didn't know better, he'd say this girl led a too-cheerful life. He wondered how she could keep up such a believable act. "Ai's very serious. She doesn't like to show emotion. She misses our mom I guess. She's fourteen." Leiko's head tipped to the side as she considered this, then she let the thought go and allowed Ren to continue his talk of his family. "Huang is very gentle. He likes to be quite. He's ten." Ren had to hand it to himself: he was good with guessing ages. He himself had no idea how old any of them were taking the appearance to be; but he'd seen humans around those ages and how they'd looked similarly youthful to how his friends looked. "And the littlest one!" he complained. "Kikuri's such a brat. She looks like a doll, I swear"—inside joke, Ren laughed internally—"and she's the most childishly evil little girl."

Leiko laughed. "And how old is she?"

Grinning, Ren threw himself into the conversation with more enthusiasm. For the first time, he was glad to know someone outside the whole Hell Correspondence thing—someone to complain to, to let out all his childish annoyance, even if it was behind the pretence of it being family. "Seven…eight. I don't even know."

"She annoys you that much that you won't bother to remember her age?" Leiko asked, grinning.

Ren shrugged. "It's not me she bugs, because I'll all but hit her"—Leiko flinched at this comment, and Ren made a mental note to never mention hitting someone ever—"but she bugs Hone and Wanyūdō and forces Huang to call her Princess Kikuri. And, since I'm a bit faster than her, when she does try to bug me she ends up hitting someone else and it's just a big mess. We were all calm and quite before…" He was about to say before Ai had Kikuri join us, but remembered: they were a family. His pause was so brief the human didn't notice it. "Mom adopted Kikuri," he finished.

Leiko smiled, lifting out of her seat to sir the rice, put a lid on it, and lowered the flame. "Adopted, is she? Well that explains why she's such a brat. When you're adopted, you don't want to go back to the life you had so you live it up as much as you can before its gone, and you don't care if you're mean or not," she clarified.

But before she was done, Ren was already shaking his head. "Nah, I think she's just a brat."

The black-haired young woman laughed. "Give her some time," she suggested, turning to pay attention to the spaghetti.

Ren cocked his head curiously as he watched Leiko. "You talk as if you know a lot about adoptions."

"I should," she said, and Ren could hear the semi-happiness in her voice. "I am, after all, an adoptee. I can sympathize. I was just like your sister when I first came to my parents. It took me all of one year to stop being bratty."

Ren nodded understandingly. "You should see them, though. You'd be shocked that we're at all related." He sighed. "I mean, I'm so _handsome_ and they're so…_not_."

Leiko laughed. She twisted her neck as to look over her shoulder. Moving her eyes up and down Ren's frame, she teased, "If you say so…"

Shocked, Ren almost jumped out of his seat. "I am!" he shouted, his green-yellow eyes wide with vain anger.

The scratch of Leiko's metal spoon against the pot seemed extremely loud for a moment as the schoolgirl looked over Ren again. "Whatever you say, Ren, whatever you say…" she murmured.

"Leiko!" Ren chastened. The girl in question jumped, fearing her uncle though the voice was very different. "Stop lying!"

The layered hair that faced him now jiggled with the moving laughter of the short girl. "I'm only agreeing!" she said defensively, her laughter coating the words. She dropped her spoon for a second, turning to face the offended man with a grinning face. "You, Ren whatever-your-surname-is," Leiko started sarcastically, "are the most enticing man that has ever walked the face of the Earth and I am honored to be in your presence, milord." At the sound of Ren's annoyed growl, Leiko laughed again and turned to the stove.

When Ren heard the jolly sound of the young woman's laughter, he decided to let it go. He leaned back into his chair and said a word he'd normally never say in the presence of a lady, "Damn straight."

Leiko's laughter died down with the sound of a car's door slamming shut. Ren saw her muscles tense. The stirring became ridged. Sweat glimmered on the back of her long, pale neck. "Please," she said, her voice cracking, "please get out of that chair. Please, move to another one." She ran to the cupboard and grabbed a plate, serving her uncle and setting it on the table where Ren sat. Ren suddenly noticed that he wasn't here to talk and that he was at the head of the table. Speedily, he moved from the seat to the next. He watched as Leiko, terrified, served him spaghetti. She set the plate before him. Her russet eyes seemed to beg him not to eat yet.

If he hadn't been distracted by the girl's panic, Ren would've said that the food smelled…well, good.

The stomp of large feet on the wooden planks echoed throughout the wealthy house. With a shaking hand, Leiko put a cup in front of both plates of food and hurried to lid the foods. Toshi shouted her name; she jumped. "In—in the kitchen, Uncle," she stuttered. Ren felt the sudden need to keep a brick wall that no one could cross between the shivering young girl and her abuser.

"Did you make food?" the man's booming voice called. His voice had the undertone of horror and dread, as if he was something to fear. "Because if you didn't…" he trailed off suggestively. Leiko's big eyes widened in alarm and she moved her shoulders as if suddenly remembering the burn on her shoulder. The burn rested on her shoulder bone, just within her reach. The tall man entered the kitchen; his small blue eyes widened at the sight of company. He smiled, though Ren could tell the smile was a strained act. "We'll just have to order out," he finished, changing the way his ominous threat had gone.

Leiko seemed skilled at hiding her fear, for she controlled her eyes' wideness and stilled her shaking. "Yes, Uncle. Would you like tea, Uncle?"

"No," he said sternly, almost ruining his façade of niceness. "Would you like to tell me who this…fine young man is?"

"Nonsense," Ren interrupted, giving the tall man a fake smile of his own. The chair made an odd scraping sound as it moved against the wood floor. "I can introduce myself," he said, bowing. "Ichimoku Ren. Pleased to meet you, sir."

Toshi nodded, his slim face holding just small reminders of his unhappiness. Skilled as Ren was, he could pick them out. He decided he would stay as long as Leiko would let him, to save her from the horrible man's burns. "Suzuki Toshi," he said warily. "Are you one of Leiko's friends?"

Ren gave a one-sided smile. "Yeah," he answered. "I wasn't invited though," he said. If he could save this girl from any of Toshi's belt lashes, he would. "I let myself in."

Again, Toshi nodded; he went to take his seat at the head of the table. Leiko hurried to serve his tea. "Black, just the way you like it, Uncle," she said, keeping her eyes downcast and her voice low. Ren scowled. He didn't like this. After giving Ren his tea, she scurried off into the shadows of the kitchen, leaving Ren and Toshi to eat.

"So, my boy," Toshi began the dinnertime conversation. "Why've you followed my dear niece like a lost pup? Are you smitten?" His deep voice laughed at the thought.

Ren grabbed his chopsticks, amazed at how hard it was to hold them properly. How did humans do this? After a few good tries, he managed to get more than seven spaghetti strands; he answered before stuffing the godly smelling food in his mouth. "I bumped into her by accident." If Leiko wasn't so deathly afraid of the man he spoke to now, Ren was sure she'd counter his accusation. He had no idea how he knew that. "I figured I'd apologize correctly at dinner. But she isn't eating."

It was a silent question for Toshi to explain, although his tone had the smallest undertone of worry. Did Leiko ever eat? Is that why her skin was so pale? Her skin looked almost sickly, if she were a shade or two lighter. Did this hell-bound prick keep her just inches from death's door?

"Oh," Toshi said, as if he had just noticed his niece's absence. "No, she prefers to serve me and our guests before eating."

_Lies_, Ren almost spat. He kept himself in check, making sure his pretense of ignorance didn't veer off course. "Hn," he muttered instead. He took another mouthful of the sauced noodles in his mouth, amazed at their taste. Why had he never eaten before?

"Leiko!" Toshi suddenly shouted. The girl appeared out of nowhere, carrying a mug of tea. She hurried in serving her uncle. When she disappeared again, he muttered to Ren, "Yes. She is old-fashioned."

_More lies!_ a voice inside Ren shouted. He realized it was his own consciousness. The Ichimoku watched the movement of the shadows, knowing that Leiko was trying her best not to make any noise incase it vexed her uncle. "She doesn't seem so to me," he muttered, thinking of how she hadn't cared at his curses. He almost laughed, the remembered the person he sat next to now. He scowled instead.

"Well," Toshi said, after slurping down orange noodles. "She's only like that with dinners and the like."

"Yeah," Ren muttered, and he stomached the rest of the meal in angered silence.


	2. Chapter 2

Leiko's pale face shined in the flickering light of the television. After preparing her uncle's bath, she had preceded to lounge on the sofa next to Ren. The moon was rising now and the sun was starting to sink into the horizon. "Won't your grandfather be worried?" she asked when Ren hadn't moved from his seat on the floor.

He shrugged. "Hone maybe," he said, thinking of his "sister's" impatience with him. "But she knows where I am."

Leiko looked confused. "How?"

Ren was at a loss for a second. Then he patted his jacket's pocket and grinned slightly, as if he had something in it. Leiko nodded with an understanding "ah." "Besides," Ren said, rolling his eyes, "its only eight. I can stay till eleven or so." It wasn't like it mattered; the Mistress didn't need him. If they did, Hone or Wanyūdō would contact him somehow. He like it here, with the poor abused girl.

Leiko looked delighted by the news. Ren could be her savior for another three hours; that was more than she'd ever dare to ask. She let her short hair form a halo around her head as she reclined on the sofa. Her forest green shirt hiked up around her stomach, exposing her navel. She seemed to think nothing of her bare milky skin; on the other hand, Ren found himself tracing the pink scars and burn marks on her flat stomach with his eyes and wondering what her skin would taste like. How would she react if he pressed his lips to the skin of her abdomen? Damned human form. He hardly knew the girl, never mind if he'd been watching her for the last three weeks.

"So," Leiko said, extending the O like a child who wondered what to talk about next with her respected elder cousin. She watched the ceiling with renewed interest before finding a subject to discuss. "What's your favorite color, Ren?"

Without thinking, Ren answered, "Green-yellow."

The girl nodded. "Like those beautiful eyes of yours?" she asked, layering her words thickly with teasing sarcasm. "Figures. Mine's green."

"Why green?" Ren found himself asking. He was even more shocked when he really cared.

Leiko fingered the hem of her jean shorts. "It was the color of my mother's eyes. My dad's were honey brown. That's my second favorite color," she said into the silence. She blinked and her eyes watered. She remembered the way her mother's eyes sparkled when she put her to bed; the way her father's eyes twinkled whenever he gave her a present. Worst of all, she remembered the way Toshi's blue eyes shimmered when he held a hot pot to her back or her legs or her arms…the way they gleamed when he heard the horrifying snap of his belt on her skin. Her tears slipped over the sides of her face, falling into her ears. She wiped them away with the inside of her wrists.

Ren turned his head to the girl, noticing her stillness. He saw the glimmer of silent tears edging to pool in her ears. Worried, he hurriedly lifted the girl's head and rested it on his lap, already sitting on the sofa. He ran the pads of his fingers over the wet tears, eyeing them curiously. He'd never felt tears on his skin. They felt wet and slippery. What did they taste like? Perhaps like the human food Leiko had served? So quickly that Leiko couldn't make out the movement, Ren had his elegant finger in his mouth, running his tongue over the salty wetness. He didn't like the taste of her tears. "Don't cry," he told her silently.

The girl's chocolate eyes smiled softly. "You're a kind stranger," she muttered. "And you've got a soft lap." She wriggled her head deeper into the thighs of her temporary savior. Ren felt a dormant part of his handsome body twitch and he wondered if Leiko could feel it. When her eyes dried and their tears turned to their usual glisten, he decided it let it go.

"Thanks," he said, tucking a piece of her thick black hair behind her ear.

Leiko laughed; her long slim legs slid against each other and her torso rocked with the action of her giggle. "You say that like you don't know if its good or not," she giggled. Ren gave her a shrug, pretending to listen to the television. Some weatherman announced tomorrow's weather. Leiko snuggled closer to his lap. "It's good to have a soft lap," she continued. "I bet your girlfriend loves sitting on it." Blushing at the thought of Ren's having a girlfriend, Leiko rushed to sit up.

Ren laughed at her girlish embarrassment. "Don't have one." Sure, he'd been in all kinds of situations with betraying women, but it never got farther than him showing her his shirtless glory and then proceeding to help the Mistress send the unfaithful bitch to hell. But no, he'd never talked to a human to get close enough to them, as he felt himself doing with Leiko. Thinking of the many situations he'd be in, only replacing all those two-timing women with Leiko, Ren couldn't help but smile.

Leiko's eyes widened in honest shock; she watched him openly, and then covered her surprise with a tease. "The sexy beast Ren Ichimoku doesn't have a girlfriend to relieve himself with?" she gasped. "Oh, what has become of the world?"

Ren watched as the girl's bright brown eyes echoed the laugh that escaped her after she finished. She chocked on her laugh when her uncle's feet stomped. "Leiko, is your friend still here?" he called down the hall. The girl swallowed and told him the answer. The blue-eyed evildoer appeared in the living room, his eyes crinkling with effort; he was trying very hard not to show his glare, but he was slipping through the cracks. "Ren," he said, addressing the beautifully calm young man, "don't you think its time for you to go home? Your parents must be worried."

Unbeknownst to him, Ren grabbed Leiko's hand—which had rested on her lap—and used it to pull her closer, protectively. Leiko blushed and averted her eyes instead of looking at Ren. If she had, she would have seen his yellow-green eyes burning with resentment. It was an open hate that glared through his eyes for a second or two before he reined it in. "No," he said instead of cursing and damning the man like he wanted to. "My sister knows where I am. If she needs me, she'll come get me."

His voice came out sounding like a dare in the end, as if Ren were daring Toshi to start his usual session of torture with Leiko before him. Ren almost wanted that to happen, just so he'd have an excuse to beat the living crap out of Toshi. But even if it were justified, he'd be queried, and reprimanded, when he went back to the Mistress. And perhaps even teased by Hone and Kikuri.

Toshi looked at a loss. He was trying to make him leave without sounding rude. "Yes," Toshi muttered, "well, Leiko has school in the morning. It's far too late for her, delicate as she is. Would you please?"

Ren's eyes itched to glare, his hands tightened with the need to knock one of the man's eyes out of his head. Ren swallowed tightly. "Sure," he said calmly, though it took some strain. His hand fell loose around Leiko's and—though she held on with all her might, begging with her eyes for him not to leave her—he stood. He turned his back on Toshi to look at Leiko. She watched him with sad brown eyes. His own green-yellow eyes were serious and cheerless. "I'll see you before school, then," he told her.

Tears prickled the back of her eyes, but she said, "Okay."

**:: ::**

"What were you thinking?" Toshi's brutal growl echoed through the house. The clicking of his belt buckle followed. The sound of leather running alongside denim was loud in Leiko's ears. "Bringing in friends! You are a woman—your first and last need is to take care of me! Your little friend is no longer aloud in my house!"

The sound of hard leather coming in contact with soft skin snapped through the house, bouncing off the walls and back to their ears. Leiko chocked on her own shout, biting her lip as to not make any noise. She resisted the need to huddle over her arm, to protect it from further damage. She knew Toshi well enough to know that it was there he'd pour the boiling water. Leiko watched fearfully as his belt snapped again, over her new bruise. Then the man turned his back on her.

"You good for nothing bitch!" he shouted behind his shoulder, walking into the kitchen.

Leiko knew what he was going to do; he would grab the pot and fill it with hot water, then boil it and pour it over her skin. A lone tear escaped her eyes and she hurried to wipe it, so Toshi wouldn't see her cry. She bit on her lip harder; she felt her teeth brake skin and blood seep into her mouth. She'd rather have this than cry in front of Toshi.

It was a few minutes before he reentered the living room. He had a pot in hand; steam rose out of it. Leiko's eyes went wide—no matter how many times this happened, it stroke fear into her very being as fresh as the first time she'd ever seen a steaming pot in the hands of her mother's brother. How could someone so nice have someone so evil as a family member? She watched Toshi's eyes glimmer with some evil feeling of justice as he grabbed her arm and extended it towards him.

White-hot pain shot up her arm, blinding her. She felt blistered begin to sprout. Blood squirted inside her mouth with the force of her bite, leaving a coppery taste.

Toshi looked pleased with this reaction. He finished pouring the rest of the water over her forearms and dropped the pan on the rug of the floor. "Clean up," he said, turning to grab his keys from their perch on the television. "I'll be back."

The door slammed behind him. Leiko dashed to the kitchen; the sound of rushing water was music to her ears. It was ice-cold on her burn, yet still not frosty enough for her taste. Now that Toshi was gone, tears ran down her face like a waterfall; she could hardly see her now red flesh through the curtain of her tears. She kept the sobs from escaping her lips for fear of the neighbors. If they found out, what would Toshi do? Could it possibly be worse that what he was doing to her now?

Her mind's-eye saw an image of her screaming as Toshi tried to rip her clothes off, no one there to save her. Leiko didn't put this beyond her uncle.

When she could bear the burn, when her tears dried out, Leiko managed to get an icepack and tape it to her skin. She scurried off to clean her uncle's mess in fear; her sobs choked her as she held them in.

**:: ::**

Ren's eyes were wide. He wanted to transport back to Leiko and comfort her, take her far away from that evil man, keep her with him where no one could hurt her. He was dumbfounded. Of course, he'd seen much worse…and yet, he had never wanted to protect any of the people he'd watched. He'd seen a man whip his own child; a bully drive a child off the bridge of insanity; a man beat his wife; a dog murdered…

And yet, here he had to physically hold onto something so he didn't go comfort the girl; so he didn't slay Toshi with his own two hands; so he didn't save her from her horrible world. He wanted Leiko in his arms, safe and sound, away from the ghastly world of humans. How could someone so wonderfully sweet, so kind, so fun, so cheerful, so…so amazing be fated to suffer through life alongside that tyrant? How could poor, sweet, fun, superb, wonderful Leiko be tormented by that slave driver?

Why would anyone want to do that to Leiko? How could anyone do that to Leiko?

Oh, dear god, the blisters… Oh, dear god, her silence… Any normal human would have shouted, cried, kicked and screamed at that treatment. Her silence worried had him more worried than if she had cried and kicked and screamed and shouted and yelled.

"Hone." Ren's usually cheerful voice was dead.

Hone answered quickly, worried about the somberness of his voice. "What is it, Ren?" She looked over her shoulder to where his voice was coming from, away from her kimono's fine decorations. She swallowed at the sight of his eyes; they were cold, protective, and hateful. It was a sight that could chill the Gulf of Mexico.

"I can get into Leiko's school, right?" His voice made his question more of a statement than an inquiry.

Hone watched him in surprised. Why would Ren want to go to the human's school? Was he sweet on her? The thought brought a semi-smile to her face. It looked odd with her somber eyes. "You can do anything," she stated, matter-of-factly.

Ren nodded emotionlessly.

**:: ::**

It was six a.m. in the morning. Pancakes rested, steaming, in the microwave and a cup of juice rested in the refrigerator. The sun was just starting to rise. With tense muscles, Leiko wrote her uncle a note, telling him that she had to been at school early—a lie, which she told every so often under the pretence of being in a club just to get away from her uncle's criticizing eye—and that there was food in the microwave and juice served in the fridge. She left it where he would see it, right on the kitchen table, and tiptoed out to the living room, put on her shoes, and walked out the door.

The early morning air was cool on her skin. Her blistered forearm thanked nature for its mercy. It was wrapped in white bandages, sheltering it from any debris or infections it might get, but the cold air still felt wonderful. Leiko shivered gratefully and walked in the direction of the park. Her hold on her brown schoolbag was loose with relief—relief to be out of Uncle Toshi's home.

When would she be able to move out? When would she be able to get her uncle the help he needs to control his anger without fearing him? When would she be able to forget him and never come back?

The answer to those questions was simple: if she got into collage, if she graduated, she could move out, could help her uncle's anger-management problems. Leiko smiled at the green of the park. She sat on one of the bench and pulled out her homework. She'd finished this during school, but she wanted to look over it. Her math was done right, as was her English and writing.

Checking it all took most of half an hour. There was still another half-hour to kill. She gingerly put away her work and deeply sniffed at the warm spring breeze. The smell of lilacs caressed her nose. The untimely orange sunrays brought out the chestnut lowlights; her bangs hung before her face, framing her cheekbones. Her hair was in a loose ponytail, tickling the first bone of her spine. The white and blue of her shirt dangled lightly over her torso; her skirt rested limply above her knees.

Leiko closed her eyes, absorbing all the vitamin D from the sun.

**:: ::**

Ren watched Leiko. Her serene expression brought a smile to his face. He noticed a few differences about her in open sunlight: her hair had chestnut strands that stood out dazzlingly against her onyx hair color; she looked so wonderfully calm as she sunbathed; and, most importantly and most worryingly, she had a white bandage over the expanse of her left forearm. His smile turned into a hateful scowl at the memory of who did that. To think that monster had let her out this early! He felt giddy with excitement—he once again would get to talk to her, to hear her musical voice from her alluring lips…

He stuffed his hands in his pockets and walked over to her casually. "Leiko," he greeted, as if it were the most normal thing to run into her at six thirty in the morning.

A melodic gasp escaped the girl's lips. Ren was worried for a second if she hadn't wanted to see him again. Then a brilliant smile broke across her face, and she said, "Hiya, Ren," cheerfully. "What are you doing out here so early?" Her voice had an airy peace to match her happy expression. She didn't seem surprised to see him in the black uniform that guys at her school wore.

"It's calm out here this time of day," Ren stated simply, ignoring her question. In this calm, he didn't think he could lie to her. Not with that too-happy smile of hers. He leaned on the bench and looked up at the rising sun. So much like the setting sun of Ai's world.

Leiko took his statement as an answer. Her smile stayed in place. How happy she was to see him again! "You should fasten those up," she told him, eyeing the two top white metal buttons that lie open on his chest. They exposed the creamy skin of his strong neck. Leiko tried not to stare at the muscle that rested beyond his neck, exposed also by the unbuttoned uniform. The planes of his light chest… Leiko blushed.

Ren scowled at her comment. His spirit lightened at the reddening of her cheeks. "No," he frowned. "It chocks me."

Leiko nodded. "Who do you have for homeroom?"

Ren gave the teacher's name, knowing very well that Leiko had the same one. "My sister's subbing though. She goes by Onna."

"Is she perhaps ashamed to be related to you?" Leiko teased, her voice low and cheerful in the morning sun. "I know I would."

Ren scowled at her ribbing. "Back at you," he said testily. Leiko laughed. Then was the perfect time to bring up the bandaging. He pretended to notice it now. "Hey," he called, dragging her attention from her teasing to his worried eyes, "what happened there?" He eyed the white bandages.

Leiko grabbed her left forearm protectively, shielding it from Ren's perceptive eyes. "Nothing," she lied.

Ren's scowl, already deep with worry, deepened with hate. "Was it him?" the greenish-yellow-eyed man asked, though he knew who had done it. Still, the memory of it struck him with an angry vigor. Toshi's evil eyes glaring maliciously as he poured the water over Leiko's pale flesh, a glint of pleasure in their hateful depths… It took all he had to not rush to her house and beat him to an inch within death.

Ren didn't need to say who; they both knew.

Too quickly, Leiko shouted, "No!" If he hadn't already known, this would be all the confirmation he'd need. Her voice was defensive, as if trying to protect someone. Ren's scowl was so deep it looked permanently etched into his skin. The sight was something both heartbreakingly horrifying and achingly beautiful.

Ren sat down beside her, pushing her over gently to make room for himself. He gingerly pulled the bandaged appendage out of her other arm's protection. He extended it towards him, raking his eyes over the whiteness of the dressings to find the opening. Finding it, he unwrapped it from her arm.

Leiko bit her lip in fear. What would he say? What would he do? She didn't like not knowing.

Ren gasped at the red blisters that contrasted sharply with her creamy skin. His yellow-green eye blazed with anger, but Leiko didn't know to whom it was directed. She found that she was afraid of this angered Ren. He looked as if he would kill someone. And maybe he would; after all, how much did Leiko know about the strange teen? She'd only known him for a day. It seemed so much longer, as if she'd known him all her life; it was so natural being with him…

Ren replaced the bandaging over her singed arm. "I am taking you to the doctor," he said simply, clasping her hand in his own and dragging her up as he stood. Even in all this fear, Leiko found time to blush at the intimate way their hands were connected—finger through finger, palms warm together—before ripping her injured arm away from his hand's gentle caress.

"No," she managed to protest, albeit tonelessly. "I can't go there… Uncle has friends there. Please no. He thinks I'm at an early-morning school club. If he found out…"

Leiko trailed off and Ren's glower slackened in understanding. Of course he didn't know she was out here; it made perfect sense that he'd not even let her out for a daybreak walk. It went with his hell-spawn personality so well, hand in hand. "Okay," he relented, though his expression hadn't loosened. "We'll get to the school and ice it then."

To this, Leiko conceded, letting herself be pulled along the way to the school's campus.

**:: ::**

Weeks went on like that, Leiko meeting Ren in the park, joking with him, showing him her knew scars… It felt like a comfortable routine. She'd met his sister, Hone, who'd taken up subbing in the school; she saw her often. She was a beautiful woman with kind dark brown eyes that looked like they could pierce right through anyone's soul, just like Ren's, though they were a very different color. His sister couldn't be older than twenty-seven, but Ren teasingly called her "old woman." It was funny to watch Hone's old-before-her-time-looking black-brown eyes light with an anger that looked familiar on her eyes as she shouted her rebuttal.

Leiko would witness this happily, teasing both siblings as if she belonged to the family. Then, after the morning tease was over, she and Ren would walk from the room Hone was subbing in to homeroom. They would always walk very close; so close that just one wrong move of the hands would have their arms touching and their hands holding. Neither of them minded; they liked to have each other close.

Ren and she had most of their classes together and, while Leiko thought nothing of it other than pure coincidence, Ren found secret pleasure in knowing that he had arranged his classes, that he had successfully guessed all her classes and had been right in every one of them. Grinning from ear to ear, Leiko would sit in her desk next to her friends—Ren hadn't had enough time to change the seating charts, but that was okay because she was having fun with her friends, and that brought a bigger smile to his face than if she were right next to him—and they would tease her about her "boyfriend." Leiko would blush a lovely reddish-pink color and roll her eyes at them. Then class would be over, Ren would wait for Leiko at the door and walked with her to their next class, and the cycle would start over again. After school was over, Ren would walk her to the street of her house, knowing that he wasn't allowed inside the house—he really wouldn't care, but if he entered it would get Leiko in trouble—and say goodbye, only to start the cycle over again.

Summer was starting up and school was dying down when Hone subbed for their science teacher. It was the only class in which Leiko and Ren shared a desk.

"Ren," Leiko said, following his eyes to her new scar. It rested right on the junction of her shoulder. "No." It was a warning; she knew exactly what he would suggest. He did it every time she appeared with a new scar.

Ren's yellow-green eyes held the scowl that he wouldn't allow to show on his face. "It doesn't look good," he murmured, glaring at her. But it wasn't her he wanted to glare at; truly he wanted to gouge the eyes out of Toshi. He was a bit mad at her though, always refusing to get checked out…

Leiko laughed, pretending the tenseness of their conversation hadn't touched her. But it was a dead laugh, not full of the childish warmth Ren had come to know. "When do they ever look good?" she asked.

Ren didn't have an answer for that. He stared at her in silence, wondering, yet again, what he was going to do with her stubbornness. Thankfully, Hone interrupted. "Alright, you brats," she called to the class, teasingly, "your teacher wanted me to hand out these." In her hand rested a pile of yellow papers, so obviously permission slips. She spilt the packet into seven and handed one out to all of the seven rows to be handed back.

Leiko grabbed hers; it looked different than the class's. Instead of a wolf howling up at the full moon, hers had a sleeping bag on it. She waited, listening to Hone's instructions.

"You're all going to a wildlife preserve to study animals. It's like a zoo," the beautiful woman said; it didn't match at all with what Leiko had. "I think it's a bit late considering that you're all teenagers and not toddlers with red balloons, but hey—I'm just a sub. Get them signed."

Beside her, Ren smirked. That was not a good sign. Ren never smirked; smiling was more his thing. Something fishy was going on. Leiko didn't know whether she liked it, considering that her best friend was in on it. She slumped into the palm of her hand, reading the paper that sat on the table.

_Have your parent/guardian sign this by June 11th. You will be sleeping over at a theater as part of the Drama Club._

Leiko stopped reading in suspicion. The Drama Club was the club she told her uncle she was a part of. Only Ren knew that. And June eleventh was tomorrow. Hone's voice droned on, "They need to be in by June seventeenth." That was _not_ the date on her paper. She watched Hone, catching her brown eyes. Hone _smiled_. She'd done that on purpose. Leiko looked over at Ren. That pretty little smirk was still on his face. "And that's that," Hone said. "Oh, Ren? Leiko? Up here, please."

Finally! An explanation.

Eyebrows pulled together in confusion, Leiko pushed her chair back and walked up to her friend's sister. Ren followed closely behind, hands in his pockets, completely and utterly at ease. That sneaky, mischievous smirk was still in place. "Explain," Leiko ordered, placing the paper on the bone woman's desk.

Hone smiled. "This is just our way of asking you to sleep over," she said, watching as Leiko's beautiful brown eyes widened and a smile overcame her features. "Ren told me that your guardian wouldn't let you come over if it wasn't for school. So…tada!"

Leiko was staring at her, joy coloring her every feature. "So," she asked silently, making sure none of her current glee slipped into her voice, "you'd deceive an adult, not let him know where his child is, just so I could sleep over?"

Behind her, grinning, Ren said, "Yeah, basically."

"I _love_ you guys!" she whisper-shouted, throwing her arms around the science sub and hugging her. Then she pulled away and threw her arms around Ren's neck. Blushing lightly—since when did he _blush_, let alone feel that little current of electricity whenever Leiko touched him?—Ren hugged her back, wrapping his arms around her little waist. When she pulled away, he couldn't help but feel as if he didn't want to. "I'll have it back tomorrow!"

The bell rang.

"Don't get yourself hurt!" Hone shouted back, frowning as Leiko ran out, waiting for Ren at the door. The bone woman turned to her so-called brother. "Are you sure this is a good idea?" she whispered. "I mean…she seems perfectly happy without the Hell Correspondence."

At first, she'd been all for getting her to Ai. But after meeting her, after getting to see what a strong girl she was…well, Hone couldn't stand the thought of her going to Hell. She didn't belong in Hell, spunky as she might be.

Ren nodded. "_You_ don't see her cry at night; _you _haven't seen those horrible scars. I _want_ to send her uncle to hell. He deserves it," the green-yellow eyed teen spat. "See you," he said, turning away to his "friend."

Hone bit her lip and bobbed her head. She'd never, _ever_ been scared of Ren before, but now… There was furiousness in his voice that she hadn't heard before. And his yellow-green eyes burned with anger whenever he talked about Leiko's uncle. He looked as if he'd kill the man himself. And when he was with Leiko, he was more talkative. He looked happier. He smiled more. He laughed. He teased. He was _himself_.

If she didn't know better, the bone woman would say he was in love.

But she knew better, and she knew that Ren wouldn't fall in love with a human. It would mean giving up their secret, the Sunset Realm. Because, as Hone would know better than anyone, it was very hard to keep secrets from the one you loved. She knew that too well. However, the fact that he'd been _himself_ instead of some random delivery guy told her otherwise. Maybe he'd been in love already, before he'd even gotten caught.

Sighing, Hone walked out of the room, hoping to god that Ren wasn't in love.

**:: ::**

School was over and a pot stewed, making Toshi his favorites. They were almost done.

The door opened and Leiko jumped, checking the pots and turning off the flame, serving him before he could even get to then kitchen. The fact that his footsteps weren't rumbling was a good sign; it meant he was either drunk or boozed. Whichever way, it was good. While some were violent drinkers, Toshi was a gentle drunk. Leiko much preferred him when he was drunk.

"Leiko?" he called softly into the house. He wasn't hungover, thank god. He was nice and drunk, happy and calm. The tall slender ape entered the kitchen. "That looks good."

Leiko bit her inner cheek, not wanting to ruin this. She poured him his tea; Toshi was calm. "Um, Uncle?" she asked, still chewing on her cheek. Her stomach roared—she hadn't eaten in three days—and moved, feeling uneasy. When her uncle nodded, picking up his chopsticks, Leiko went on, "Th-the-there's this field…field trip for the Drama Club and—"

"Hand me the paper," Toshi interrupted her. She snatched the paper from her bag and handed it to him with a pen. He signed it.

"Thank you!"

**:: ::**

"Where is everyone?" Leiko asked, entering the house. Hone and Ren were right behind her; Ren had offered to carry her bag, but she'd refused, saying she was strong enough to carry her own things.

Ren had had some trouble getting into this house—its real owners were out of town—and he'd had to find the spare key and it was just a mess. But here they were, in this house, relieving Leiko of her uncle's horridness. He'd gotten in before, to make everything look lived in. A bag of potato chips rested on the sofa, toys were splayed around here and there…

Leiko slipped off her shoes. "Where're your sisters and grandfather and…?"

Hone gave a glare to Ren, which went unnoticed by the girl; Ren just shrugged his shoulders as if to say _What's done is done_. Hone opened her mouth to say something, but Ren beat her to it. "Pops is out buying something, the girls are out, and my brother's sleeping over at someone else's house."

"Ah," Leiko said, resting her things on right next to her shoes.

**:: ::**

Laughter echoed through the halls; it was the childish laughter Ren had come to love. Leiko ran away, singing, "Can't catch me, you slow idiot!"

Ren's yellow-green eyes widened and he ran faster, tripping over a rug and falling onto Leiko. They slammed backwards into the computer, her elbow slamming onto the enter key. "What was that?" Ren asked, breathing deep. Leiko ran _fast_.

A blush covered the girl's cheeks. Did Ren even _notice_ how close they were? His forehead was inches from touching hers. His nose was poking at her own. And his lips were just _right there_. His beautiful, pale, full lips were just _right there_. His breath was sweet and wonderful, brushing her face. And he was just _right there_, so wonderfully _close_. His arms were trapping her against the desk. And he was just _so close_—

Ren's lips were on hers, so fast she hadn't even see him move. They were wonderful and soft and beautiful on hers, moving wonderfully. Leiko's eyes fluttered close, her arms wrapping around his neck, pulling him closer. His lips moved around hers, his tongue poking around her lips. Leiko opened them, giggling lightly when she felt his tongue attack her own. And he was so warm, so wonderful.

"You've summoned me."

Ren jumped, suddenly standing, holding Leiko behind him as he watched Ai. Who summoned her? He glanced around at the computer. _Your grievance shall be avenged,_ it read. Gritting his teeth, he wondered who'd done it. Hone—she'd wanted this over and done with. Hone had typed it and Leiko had pushed the enter key. Accidentally, but the deed had been done.

"Ren?" Leiko asked, confused. "What—"

Ai looked only mildly surprised to see him there; she had a job to do and that'd what she was going to do. "You've summoned me," she repeated, "Leiko."

"Wait a second!" Leiko shouted. "Who are you? I didn't summon anyone!"

Ai's bright red eyes blinked; her face was as composed as ever. "My name is Ai," she said emotionlessly. "You've summoned me," she announced, slowly lifting a finger to the computer.

Leiko's black brows were pulled together. Confusion still colored her face. She leaned around Ren to better see the beautiful little girl. "Ren, don't you have a sister named—"

"Yeah," Ren said slowly. "That's her."

Before Leiko could say anymore, the red of the Sunset Realm engulfed them. Hone was leaning against a tree; an old man was there too. Ren was still holding her behind him, holding her hand protectively. Ai's perfect pale hands were extended before her, and there was a straw doll in her hands. The old man wasn't there anymore. She offered the doll to Leiko.

"This is for you," she said slowly, extending her hand out. "If you truly wish revenge, just untie the scarlet thread from his neck. Pulling the thread binds you into a covenant with me. I will ferry the soul of your tormentor straight into the depths of Hell... However, once vengeance is served, you will have to deliver your end of the bargain. There always has to be a price. When you die, your soul will also belong to Hell. You will never know the joys of Heaven; you will be left to wander through a world made of pain and agony for all of eternity."

Leiko scoffed. "Ai," she said, still thinking it was just a joke laid on her by a little girl who missed her mother, "this—"

Ren wasn't holding her anymore. Fire rained down on her, burning her. Something was dragging her. Something was dragging her, its slimy hands digging into her skin. It hurt! Oh god, how it hurt. It stung and it burned and it was horrible. But she didn't scream. She couldn't scream. She'd been dealing with being burned and whipped for so many years that silence was her mouth's only response. Her voice was caught in her throat. Her eyes were wide with fear. The fire was _burning_ her! It was _burning_ her alive!

"Stop it, Ai!" Ren's voice broke through the pain. Panic colored his beautiful, wonderful voice. And the fire didn't seem so bad anymore; the only thing that felt bad was not knowing what made Ren so horribly frightened. "Stop it!"

The fire was gone. Tears coated Leiko's eyes and she ran to Ren, digging herself into his chest. No matter how strong you are, after something bad happens, you just want to be held. Ren's arms were around her, shushing her. He realized that he'd just used the Mistress's name and he didn't care. His hands were soothing Leiko's hair.

The straw doll was in her hands and the Sunset Realm was no more. She was back in the house, computer and everything. Ren wasn't there.

**:: ::**

"What the _hell_?" Ren shouted at Hone. "_Why_ the hell!"

Hone looked confused. "That's what you wanted. To get over with the job, right?"

Yellow-green eyes were wide with rage. "_No!_" Ren roared. And he was gone again.

**:: ::**

_Don't pull it._ Leiko was in the room that Hone had put her things in, glaring at the straw doll in her hands. Its red thread gleamed like a stream of blood. Why was she even thinking about this? She didn't want anyone to be sent to Hell. Who was her tormenter?

Stupid question.

Still, she didn't want to end her uncle in Hell. She wanted to run away, to never see him again—but she didn't want him dead. She wanted him to learn his lesson, but she didn't want to see him in Hell. She wanted him to repent of his own free will, not because he would be sent to Hell if he didn't.

But the scarlet thread teased her. _I'll show him,_ it sang, _he won't bother you again._

_No._ _The price is Hell; I don't want it,_ Leiko told herself. _I don't want it. The price is my soul. The price is Toshi's soul. No._

Glaring at the doll, she threw it out the window.

**:: ::**

Watching as she slept, Ren smiled. He'd seen the doll outside, resting on the bushes. He'd told Wanyūdō that it was safe to leave, that Leiko wouldn't give the doll a second thought. But Wanyūdō was convinced, as Ren had once been, that vengeance was an unpreventable thing that grew thinly inside the human soul. Ren was proud to say that he'd been wrong.

Now he watched Leiko as she slept silently, curling up on herself as she often did. He didn't want to wake her, but she probably thought that he'd left without even saying goodbye. He didn't want that. So he walked into the room, kneeling down and softly shaking her.

Unfocused, confused brown eyes opened after a few shakes. "Ren?" she mumbled. Ren nodded, lifting her head off the pillow and sitting on the bed, letting her use his lap as a pillow. "Ren, what just happened?"

The yellowish-green eyed teen sighed, using his fingers to comb through her hair. "I told you about my family," he said. "But what I forgot to mention was that none of us are related. That doll that Ai gave you—it was Wanyūdō. If you _had_ pulled that string, we'd be sending your uncle to hell right now. I mean we'd literally be torturing him until he realized what he'd done wrong and then _literally_ putting him on a boat and sending him to hell."

Sleepy, Leiko asked, "You mean, like Hell Girl?"

"Ai _is_ Hell Girl," Ren told her. "She was cursed into it. She has this saying, 'When one person is cursed, two graves are dug.' What she means is, when one curses another, both are doomed. That's why if you'd pulled that string, you'd be sent to Hell too. When you died."

And he continued to tell her things about the Mistress and the reason she was Hell Girl; and then why Hone was with her; and Wanyūdō; and lastly his story.

"So, what you're telling me is: You are a sword," Leiko stated, more of a question then a statement. "Cool." Ren laughed, leaning down to kiss her. Leiko laughed too. "Is it possible for _me_ to become a part of Ai's little group?"

Ren laughed again. Of course she'd ask that. Obvious in hindsight. "You'd have to be distended for Hell," he said, grinning out the window to the bright moon above. There was no way Leiko could ever do anything to get her sent to hell.

**:: ::**

The little doll was in her bag. How'd it get there? Leiko rolled her eyes, remembering what Ren had told her. "You know," she said, staring at the toy with the scarlet thread, "for a doll, you really are a pain, Wanyūdō." She thought she heard the little straw doll laugh, but it was a low sound, easily washed out with the sound of boiling water. Spaghetti was on the list again; it was one of Toshi's favorites.

Footsteps rumbled. Leiko's eyes widened when she realized he was early. "Leiko!" Toshi growled. "The food better be ready!" He was in the kitchen already, seeing how obviously the food was still uncooked. He also saw the doll in the girl's hand. "You were playing with _dolls_ instead of making me my dinner?" he shouted.

"N-n-no, Uncle!"

"Don't _lie_ to me, you worthless bitch!" Toshi's footsteps stomped. He was next to the stove, the handle of the pot with the boiling water in his hand. The water and uncooked noodles in it flew into the air.

Scared, Leiko took a few steps backwards, tripping on a chair's leg. Her arms flayed, trying to keep balance. The string was in her hands! It was in her _hands_! But it was too late—the doll was already in one hand, the string in the other, and she was on the floor. The water fell to the ground, not touching her, and the pot clattered. Toshi was nowhere to be seen.

"Your grievance shall be avenged," a gruff male voice echoed. The doll was gone.

Her brown eyes widened. Tears raced down her checks. "No!" she shouted, her voice horse and horrible. "No!"

**:: ::**

"Oh, pitiful shadow cloaked in darkness, your acts have caused great pain and suffering; your hollow soul drowns in your sins. I will show you what death is like."

**:: ::**

Suddenly, she wasn't in her kitchen in anymore. She was kneeling on some type of rock that overlooked a dark purple river. Tears coated her eyes. She could hear someone talk to her, a gruff voice. She looked away from the small boat that floated on the purple stream. There was a bald man in traditional clothes.

"Please," he said, "forgive me."

Something told Leiko that this was Wanyūdō. She was marveling at the old man, so sweet looking, when a horrible shriek broke through the sky. "_I'm sorry, let me go!_"

Leiko's eyes widened. "Is that—?" she asked no one, only to be cut off.

"Yes," Ren answered. He, too, was kneeling on the rock, glaring at the boat. "And that"—he pointed to the arc in the middle of the river—"is Hell."

"But I didn't mean it! I didn't mean to!" Leiko cried, staring at the boat. "I didn't—"

Ren sat next to her, pulling down the collar of her uniform. There, above her left breast, rested Hell's promise, like ash on snow. "What's done is done," Ren whispered. Regret covered his tone. "I'm sorry, Leiko."

**:: ::**

_You'd have to be destined for Hell, _Ren's voice echoed in her head.

_I am destined for Hell,_ Leiko thought, watching the little black mark in the mirror._ Save me, Ren, please. Make me one of you._

**::Author's Note::**

**This is the first time I've ever written Hell Girl so some of the characters are OOC. I did my best, but… Sorry. I've been writing this one for literally two months.**

**R&R!**


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